Is there a problem with Islam?

[LeafBud7]

My answer to this has always been, no, even if there are problematic elements within Islam especially for women, you can say the same about any culture or ideology, or religion.
I have been reading and thinking more about this recently, and i'm going round in circles. My brother in law is Muslim, and I am going to ask him what he thinks when I next get the chance for a proper chat, also a female colleague who I think would be open to talking about this..
In the meantime, what do you think? Is it as I have always thought, above, or is there something potentially within the religion what makes it more problematic, or is it not the religion itself, but more how things evolve in some communities? Is it all just a imaginary "problem" used by racists to whip up a storm?
One thing is for sure, it seems one is not really allowed to ask these questions in some circles, without being accused of being racist, which I find really unhelpful.

Thank you for this post. Unfortunately there are posters on here who think they know better than any Muslim who knows what they are talking about and it's very off putting and upsetting to read the posts on here that just seem to demonise Islam into something it's not. I think more Muslim posters would be more obliged to comment on here if it was safe to do so but it really isn't.

It's not religion at all. It's culture.

I wasn't there, it was the generation before mine.

The country in question is not secular, no. What's your point? Please spell it out for me so I don't get accused of putting words in your mouth.

If that’s so, then why is nothing being done about the misogynistic elements of the culture? If it’s not mandated by religion, why is it being allowed to persist? Why are deeply religious people ok with women being treated like this?

I'm sure. Have you tried listening to women not critical of Islam to hear their point of view?

Believe me, I get it. I'm Jewish, we get the exact same treatment and utter disdain from people all the time.

In Islamic countries, the whole culture tends to be based on and around the religion. Muslims tend to live their lives according to the Qur'an. To suggest otherwise is disengenuous.

Therefore the non Muslims were acting in accordance with the law in the country they lived in which was presumably Sharia. Sharia is based on religious texts. Ergo...

I'm sorry you have to go through it too @WantingToBeHelpful. Thank you for your efforts.

I’ve seen plenty of comments of women who are not critical on threads like this one.
What Ayaan and Yasmine were saying sounded pretty damning though. Do you think voices like theirs are inaccurate?

@anotherlevel @WantingToBeHelpful you may find the attached extract enlightening, I don’t have access to the full article but a quick summary might be to say the more religious the country, the fewer rights women have. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0939362516300796

With regards to how religions impact on women’s rights from a legal perspective , a closer to home example may be that of Northern Ireland where women’s rights to abortion were curtailed long after it became freedom of choice in the rest of the Uk….the law wasn’t changed til 2020 believe it or not.

It is an imaginary problem created by racists. I grew up and still live in a very Muslim area and it upsets me deeply to hear this question. I love my community and I see all the great things our community does. It breaks my heart honestly to hear any bullshit against Islam and Muslims, I hate hate hearing it because it's such rubbish and it hurts my community.

My point being ,with regards to abortion rights in NI.,we don’t say that it was due to the northern Irish CULTURE, ,that difference in rights was a result of RELIGION…why do you think Islam is somehow different?

It is an imaginary problem created by racists.

The women of Afghanistan would disagree if they were allowed to talk.

Why is there still misogyny in the UK? Or is that also Islam's fault?

@untiltheend I haven't read the article but surely it's about all religious countries, not just Muslim ones? Whereas posters on here seem to think Muslim countries are worse in this regard than countries of other religions, which I take issue with.

If you think it's all the same where would you prefer to live?

A non-religious country :)

Can you really in good faith compare the level of misogyny in the UK with say Afghanistan / Yemen / Saudi Arabia…and so on?

“Compared to countries with, for example, a Christian majority, gender discrimination is more pronounced in countries with Muslim majorities”
“The results show that women are discriminated against in countries where the adherence to Islam is intense; in particular, women’s social rights are poor in these countries. The sample includes countries with Muslim majorities and countries where other religions such as Christianity are predominant”
“results show that the more intensely Shari’a family law is incorporated in the legal code, the lower are the share of women’s enrolment in higher education and the shares of women in the national parliament and the non-agricultural labor force.”
“Our sample also includes Muslim-majority countries. We use women’s rights indicators exploiting variation across countries and show that women are discriminated against in countries where Islam is the source of legislation. “

I caveat all of this by saying I do not have access to the full paper.

No but then I think a lot of it is cultural rather than due to religion, so I suspect we'll never agree.

I'm not denying the existence of misogyny. I just don't think it's by any means a uniquely Muslim problem.

Do you think misogyny in the UK is rooted in religion, specifically Christian faith? Do you think the UK is a religious country, and what non-religious country would you choose?

I'm not sure if you are counting the UK in this?

If it came down to the UK or an Islamic country?

If those are the only two options I'd choose the UK as it's more likely to be a good cultural fit for me. It's by no means a perfect fit though - I'm not from the UK (although live there now) and don't think I will ever understand the football culture here or the pub culture.

I'm not denying the existence of misogyny. I just don't think it's by any means a uniquely Muslim problem.

It is a worldwide problem, unfortunately, but the focus is on Islam in this thread because that was what the OP asked.

When we look at development of societies and cultures, it is also a history of conquest and “civilisation”. The times of the Islamic conquests and Islamic golden age were also a time of huge scientific ,medical and artistic progress…..all at a time when we would have been dancing around in the uk half naked painted in woad and making human sacrifices. A few centuries before that it was the Egyptians,the Mayan’s and the Incas leading the world in progress. I think those who are the conquering forces often then gain the monetary rewards that allow for advancement whilst other empires fade into dust. I think it’s ultimately only a matter of time…..in the west women’s rights have only been won in the very recent past, that time will come to in Islamic countries. However women’s rights I in the west have improved as the influence of religion has faded.

Yes, and I take issue with the OP because I think it's a massively shit-stirring thread where people are enjoying hating on Muslims, including Muslim women.

I find this whole thread very uncomfortable and, before anyone tries to be clever, not because it's challenging my beliefs but because it's lead to a lot of anti-Islam comments.